The present invention relates to removal of fish from nets in which they are caught, and, more particularly, to an improved method and apparatus for brailing fish from the bunt of a seine.
Purse seiners are conventionally used to fish for tuna and other ocean-going species that tend to school in specific locations in the ocean. The purse seiner, many times a ship on the order of 250 feet, lays out its net in a circle surrounding the school of fish. As shown in FIG. 1, the free end of the net, commonly known as the corkline, is normally supported by a skiff 22, sometimes on the order of 30 to 40 feet long and having a beam on the order of 20 feet. Once the seiner surrounds the school of fish with its purse seine 168, the purse line is drawn closed at the bottom and the bottom of the net hauled back on board the seiner. The enclosed volume of water within the net becomes progressively smaller as the net is hauled aboard by means of a power block 184 until only a small portion of the seine 168, called the bunt or sack 166, remains in the water adjacent to the large fishing vessel 100. The bunt 166 holds all of the fish 170 captured by the seining operation. It is of utmost importance to remove the fish 170 and place them in the freezing holds of the fishing vessel 100 as soon as possible to prevent deterioration of the fish quality.
Conventionally, the fish are removed from the bunt 166 with a brailer 24, which comprises a hoop 30 from which a brail net 156 is hung. The bottom of the brail net 156 carries a releasable drawstring in the form of a chain with a line attached. When the chain is taut, a scoop is formed that can be employed to transfer fish 170. When the drawstring is released, the bottom of the brail net 156 opens up to release the fish 170 into the vessel's hold via a hopper 164 located on the lower deck. A long handle 26 is usually attached to the conventional brailer 24. In operation, the skiff 22 employed in the brailing operation is pulled alongside the outboard side of the bunt 166. The skiff 22 has a side thruster which is employed to hold the bunt 166 open and away from the side of the fishing vessel 100. Fishermen 60 on the skiff 22 manually thrust the brailer hoop 30 via the handle 26 downwardly into the side of the bunt 166 adjacent the skiff 22. A winch line 40 is attached to the hoop 30 of the brailer 24. The winch line 40 is coupled to a power winch 44 affixed to a boom 42 attached to the mast of the fishing vessel 100. Once the brailer 24 has been manually thrust toward the bottom of the bunt 166, the power winch 44 is energized drawing the hoop 30 upwardly through the fish 170 in the bunt. The power winch 44 hoist the hoop 30 above the rail of the vessel and a purse winch 46 retracts a swing line 48 and pulls the hoop with its load of fish over the hopper 164 from which the fish can be distributed to the vessel's hold.
The manual brailing method just described has been employed by fishermen for many years. The method, however, has its drawbacks. First, because of the steep angle at which the hoop is drawn through the bunt, it is unusual for a full load of fish to be brought into the brailer making the brailing operation rather inefficient. Secondly, fishing of the type just described is normally conducted in the open ocean where swells and wave action can cause the skiff to roll and pitch violently relative to the larger fishing vessel. The ocean-induced movement of the skiff makes it difficult for the fishermen on the skiff to properly thrust the brailer into the bunt. Moreover, working on the skiff is tedious, if not perilous, work as the swinging brailer handle presents a danger to the crew.